No Kings to be Found at GW No Kings Protest
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The Right Angle Editorial Board & Reagan Lowery, NC - Guest Writer
On Saturday Mar. 28, a group of approximately 200 protesters gathered in Kogan Plaza as part of the national No Kings protest. The group, which mostly consisted of non-GW students, would then march around D.C. before ending in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters.
The protestors seemed both passionate and distressed, yet the actual purpose of the protest remained unclear. While the very title “no kings” on its own seems irrelevant in a constitutional republic with regular elections, upon interviewing many of the protestors, the goals of the demonstration only grew in their obscurity.
Though not named in the opening speeches, reporters from The Right Angle asked many participants to explain what it was they sought to accomplish from the demonstration.
“We’ve seen our right to protest being revoked,” Juliet, a GW student holding a Trump head on a pike, explained as the group walked past a police cruiser MPD had set up to protect the protesters from oncoming traffic.
“Things in our country today are not good, but we know they can be better…we fight for the America we know we can be,” RJ Doroshewitz, an organizer of the protest, told The Right Angle.
The protest peacefully marched around the city with a heavy police escort, with participants holding signs and shouting as they walked. Traffic in the city was majorly affected, according to then live Google Maps data, by the event and the unrelated Cherry Blossom festival happening at the same time, causing massive traffic jams.
What seemed most contradictory about the demonstration were the many participants who claimed to support democracy, yet openly called for a democratically elected president’s removal, and in many cases violence.
“More than half of voters did vote for him…but it should be acknowledged that there was voter suppression” Garrett, a local high school student, said when asked about Trump winning the popular vote in 2024.
A pike with the president of the United States’ head was not the only violent signage at the event. Other protesters held up signs that read “f*** ICE” and many with images mocking the late Conservative leader Charlie Kirk.
Of note was the prevalence of foreign and historical flags being carried by the crowd, including that of the Soviet Union, Iran, Palestine, and Somalia - all of which were/are authoritarian states.
Protestors were also led in pre-written chants handed out to organizers prior to the event.
The organizers of the event, GW students representing GW Democracy Matters, the GW Dems, ACLU GW, the GW Disabled Students Collective, Revs Rise Up, and Swing Left GW, spoke briefly before the walk towards the ICE headquarters. The protest was also supported by Beyond the Ballot, a DC based progressive protest and boycott mill.
The Right Angle asked multiple organizers of the event for information on funding and outside support for the protest but was denied comment.
As President Trump Tweeted in response to the last series of No Kings protests, “A huge thank you to all the ‘No Kings’ protesters yesterday! I was very concerned a king was trying to take my place, but thanks to your tireless efforts, I am STILL YOUR PRESIDENT! Great job all!!!”
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